


Cooking Up Trouble

by ericsonclan



Series: A Pirate's Life For Me AU [4]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Food, Friendship, Gen, wanted poster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25999777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Louis and the others go into town to sell some supplies and grab a bite to eat when someone recognizes them.
Series: A Pirate's Life For Me AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683673
Kudos: 6





	Cooking Up Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

“A little more to the right!” Louis instructed, cupping his hands over his mouth. The ship turned to the right, the wind blowing the sails as it crashed against the port. The ship took a few loose boards with it as it groaned with the collision. 

“No, I meant my right,” Louis scurried towards the middle section of the ship looking towards the helmsman. 

“Louis, we have the same right!” Marlon’s tone oozed annoyance as he looked over at his friend. 

“Right, right. Sorry.” Louis gave an apologetic look as his eyes scanned the ship. It was still a work in progress. Some of the crew had only been here for a few days and the rest had joined only around a week ago. Violet swore under her breath as she pulled on the ropes to get up the sails in hopes that it would make docking easier. Willy and Mitch scurried around the deck and tried to get to as many of the tasks that needed to be done quickly. When Marlon had successfully docked the ship the crew all seemed to relax, taking a moment to enjoy the small victory. 

“Can you give us a hand over here?” Ruby called over to Aasim. He immediately went over to help Brody and Ruby drop the anchor. 

“Alright, if everyone could just gather around for a minute,” Louis’ voice drew the attention of the crew. One by one they started to make their way over. “So first off I think we did a great job docking today! Definitely better than last time!” Louis proudly pulled on the sides of his jacket, giving his crew his most charismatic smile. 

“Look out!” Tenn’s voice cracked. His hands held tightly onto the rope that was near the rigging as he swung down. There wasn’t nearly enough time to react before Tenn’s small frame came crashing down, his feet stretched outwards to try and help him slow down. But it only seemed to make things worse. His feet failed to hit the deck and instead came crashing towards Louis’ body, kicking him directly in the ass. Louis let out a small yelp as he stumbled forward and grabbed his butt. Violet and Mitch looked at each other before succumbing to fits of laughter. Willy soon joined in, pointing happily towards Louis. 

“Dude, he totally kicked your ass,” Mitch had his hands on his knees as he struggled to breath. Brody ran forward to Louis and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Who me? Yeah, totally fine. Probably needed a good kick in the pants,” Louis gave a reassuring smile Tenn’s way. 

Tenn looked horrified by what he had done. Slowly getting up the courage, he walked up to Louis while his fingers frantically fidgeted.“I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean it. Please don’t kick me and the others off the ship.” Tenn’s voice wavered as the words escaped his mouth. The rest of the street rat kids stopped in their laughter, each of them realizing the weight of what happened. 

Would Louis kick them all off for laughing at him?

But Louis didn’t seem to think that way. He gave a small, dismissive wave. “Don’t worry, buddy. I know you were just trying to get back down on the deck,” Louis put a hand on Tenn’s shoulder. “I’m not gonna kick you and the others off over something like that.”

Tenn searched Louis’ eyes for a moment before nodding. 

“Now that that’s been sorted, back to the topic I was originally gonna talk about. We don’t have too many supplies, so it would be best if we try and search the ship for any tradable merchandise   
and get ourselves some stock.” Louis instructed. His crew all seemed to readily agree. 

“I think that would be the best course of action,” Aasim raised a hand thoughtfully to his chin. “If we have anything left over after we get the required provisions, I would like to suggest that we buy a map and other equipment to better our chances on the open seas.”

“All this sounds like a lot of work so it would probably be best for all of us to split off into different teams, right?” Ruby added. 

“That’s a great idea!” Louis beamed, proud of his crew. “I’d say we probably need three groups: one for food and other basic materials, one for the map and other necessary supplies, and a few to guard the ship.”

“I can help with getting the food,” Brody offered with a smile.

“Vi and I can help carry shit for trade and help with food too.” Mitch stepped forward with Violet to stand by Brody.

“It would be ideal if I went for the map equipment,” Aasim stated to which Ruby soon joined in. “I can help you.” 

“Tenn, Willy and I can guard the ship along with Rosie.” Marlon looked over at the two younger boys who seem to have a mixture of unsureness and excitement at the suggestion. Willy and Tenn looked towards Mitch and Violet who both gave nods of approval.

“It would be better if you stayed on the ship for this one,” Violet’s eyes searched the younger street rats’ faces. 

“Alright, but next time you gotta take me and Tenn into town!” WIlly declared, hocking out a surplus of saliva on his hand and extending it to the older street rats. Violet and Mitch immediately walked forward and spit in their own hands, each of them shaking hands with the younger boys. 

“Louis, where are you gonna go?” Marlon’s question made Louis look over, his eyes widening in realization.

“Shit, ummm I’m going with team food. Always can use an extra set of hands.” Louis looked over at his team who seemed fine with him joining in. Soon the three groups set out to get their respective tasks done. Louis and Mitch both carried boxes of wines and other expensive drinks while Violet and Brody carried loads of fine fabrics. Some of the fabrics were dyed in exotic colors that were so rare to see that no one besides Louis had seen them before. 

“Y’know we could’ve kept the wine,” 

Violet looked over with an annoyed expression at Mitch’s words. 

“It would be pretty useless out on the open seas if all we had was wine.” Brody called back to Mitch. “If we get some good food that can last for a long time, we won't have to worry about our food situation at every port town we dock in.”

“Brody’s right. Just think of how much money we’ll get from this haul and the crazy amount of food we can get with it.” Louis looked at the members of his crew with such a confident smile that each of them started to believe that it would go their way.

While it didn’t exactly pan out the way Louis had predicted, they were still able to get a good amount of food with their supplies. Grabbing some food that they were sure would survive the long trip on the open seas, they moved to getting bandages in case they ever ended up in a fight. That seemed almost a guarantee considering the level of trouble they had gotten into in the one week they had joined forces. 

“Not a bad haul if I do say so myself,” Louis tossed the coin pouch up in the air before snatching it as it fell downwards. “With the extra coin, I’d say we meet up with Aasim and Ruby and see if we can find a good meal around here.”

The others all were in agreement and made their way over to the meetup spot where Aasim and Ruby were already waiting for them. Ruby’s face glowed with a warm smile when she saw them. 

“How’d it go for you folks?”

“See for yourself,” Mitch grunted, dropping his share of the haul onto the cobblestone ground. Aasim studied the items and gave an approving nod. “Impressive. We were able to get a map of the seas surrounding the region as well as some items to help set course when we return to sea.”

“Not bad for a makeshift crew, “ Louis looked around excitedly. “How about we drop off the supplies and grab some grub?” Everyone seemed happy at the proposal. Soon they were striding towards the ship to pick up the others and drop off their haul.

“Hey Marlon, Willy, Tenn, get your asses down here!” Violet called out towards the ship. 

Willy’s head popped up from the deck with his signature toothy grin. Immediately the two younger boys scampered down to the others. “You’re back!” Willy exclaimed, receiving a hair tousle from Mitch.

“Told ya we would be. Now help us carry all this shit in.” 

The crew all came together and within a few minutes all the supplies had been put in the lower deck. Aasim asked if it was alright to use one of the upper rooms for navigational purposes. Soon the room had been decked out with all the items he and Ruby had assembled on their quest. 

“So, who’s ready to eat?” Louis’ question was answered by energetic chatter from everyone. After making sure that Rosie would stand guard, the crew set out for their meal. Entering a small tavern on the eastern side of the port town, they pushed together two tables before a tavern maid appeared before them. 

“We will have nine of your finest bowls of stew!” Louis leaned back in his chair when the tavern maid left to grab their food. He nearly fell in the process, but caught himself with an embarrassed smile at the last second. 

Excited conversations broke out while they waited for their food which arrived within minutes of them ordering. Their words faltered out however when they started to dig in. Willy paused for a moment before shoveling the food into his mouth. All the street rats devoured their meals. Brody was too overwhelmed by how delicious the stew was. A smile formed on her lips as she enjoyed each bite. A few moments later and all the food had been consumed. The crew leaned back in their seats, completely full and content with their meal. 

“That was the best stew I’ve ever eaten.” Louis whispered. Some of the others nodded in agreement.

“It was extremely flavorful.” Aasim leaned forward. “I wonder who their cook is.”

“Whoever he is, he has a gift,” Louis mumbled, his mind consumed by the deliciousness of the stew.

Suddenly a loud crash erupted from across the room. A man was angrily standing over his table, his chair thrown to the ground.

“Why won’t there be any more stew!” the man hissed at the server who seemed frightened by his harsh tone. 

“Sir, please-”

“Shut up!” 

“What’s going on here?” a voice came from the back of the tavern. A young man who could be no older than sixteen walked forward. His brow was coated with sweat while his clothes were littered with food splotches. His afro stood up prominently. He looked annoyed at the man’s outburst.

“I want to know why I can’t get my food.”

“It’s because the last portions went to that table over there.” The young man gestured to the table where the crew awkwardly tried not to be noticed. The man glared over at the table before his eyes widened.

“You?” he pointed at Louis. “You’re on the wanted poster!” The man motioned over to a piece of paper on the wall that had a less than flattering drawing of Louis with a wicked grin. 

“What? That can’t be me. It looks nothing like me!” Louis read the crimes listed underneath. It read: _Wanted for the crimes of stealing a merchant ship, robbing local produce and breaking out of jail._ Next to his one stood some that vaguely looked like the street rat kids and Marlon. 

“Shit,” Violet grumbled. She tried to get the others’ attention so they could join her in sneaking out of the tavern.

“Someone get the guards!” The man’s words caused the crew to freeze. Without thinking, Mitch ran forward and grabbed the butterknife, placing it near the young man’s neck. 

“Anyone speaks and this cook gets it!” Mitch yelled, glaring at the room before he whispered in the cook’s ear. “Don’t worry. Just play along and you’ll be fine.”

The cook seemed somewhat fazed by this before he agreed.

“Mitch, what the fuck-” Violet was cut off when she saw the look in Mitch’s eyes. Violet motioned for the rest to get out. Soon the crew sprinted out of the tavern, making their way to the ship. They moved with great speed, hoping to get out while they were still somewhat in the clear. Mitch dropped the butterknife as soon as they had gotten to the ship.

“Sorry about that. You can go.” Mitch turned to help the others who were busy getting the sails up. 

“I’m coming with you,” the cook stated, a serious expression on his face. 

“What?” Louis leaned over the ship. “We’re criminals… only sort of, but still.”

“Better than spending another day there,” The cook got on the ship and helped out immediately. They had no time to argue; guards were starting to swarm the dock. 

“We have to get out!” Louis yelled, pulling hard on his rope and lifting up the sail. Marlon cursed frantically under his breath as he spun them out of the dock and into the open seas. 

The crew all seemed relieved before remembering who they had taken with them. They all formed a circle away from the stranger and started to discuss their next course of action.

“What are we going to do?” Brody looked around the group. 

“We can always drop him off in the next town if he doesn’t really wanna join us,” Louis whispered.

“That would be the smartest plan,” Aasim agreed. Everyone else seemed fine with the plan, so Louis walked forward to greet the cook. 

“Hey there! I’m Louis, I'm the captain of the ship!” He gave a warm smile. “Your stew was really great!”

“Thanks,” the cook replied, looking up at Louis “I’m Omar.”

“Well, Omar, I hope you’re ready for an adventure of a lifetime - or until the next port town - the choice is yours!” 

Omar seemed happy at the captain’s welcome. He was excited for a new chapter in his life.


End file.
